NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — They are fed up with both political parties, so they are running as Independents in the upcoming special congressional election in Tennessee.
The race between Republican Matt Van Epps and Democrat Aftyn Behn is getting national attention.
But they are not the only ones on the ballot.
Three Independent candidates made their case on Inside Politics.
The candidates realize they are long-shots, but that's not stopping them from wanting to get their messages out.
They also realize they could be used by outside interests to take votes away from the Democratic or Republican nominees.
Jon Thorp is a Army veteran and former air ambulance pilot.
He said he tried to run as a Republican, but the party did not allow him on the ballot because he had not voted in recent elections.
As a result he is now running as an Independent.
Running as an Independent has opened my eyes to the hurdles that voting in our election system represents
Thorp was shocked when an out-of-state political action committee began sending mailers supporting him and calling him the "real conservative."
The mailers encouraged Republicans to vote for him over the Republican nominee Matt Van Epps.
He was asked on Inside Politics, "You had no idea this was happening?"
Thorp responded, "Correct. I did not know until a supporter emailed me asking me to clarify one of the bullets on my mailer."
The mailer was paid for by Your Community PAC, which is liberal leaning, indicating they hope he can take votes away from Republican Van Epps.
"I can't even call these guys and tell them to stop because that would be communication with them, that's illegal. I'd have to go through a lawyer or something and I have limited funds," Thorp said.
Bobby Dodge of Franklin owns a medical supply company.
He said he was inspired by recent budget cutting and hoped to be elected as part of Elon Musk's newly established America Party.
"I wanted to be the first person to usher in a new political party, the America Party, something that would be different from the Democrats and Republicans," Dodge said.
Dodge said Musk never reached out to him and the party appears to have fizzled, but he believes in fiscal responsibility.
"My hope was that I would draw just as many votes from the 'sane' Democrats as I would from the 'I don't want to go off the cliff' Republicans," Dodge said.
Teresa 'Terri' Christie is a business owner from Hickman County who leans conservative, but she said she doesn't like either political party.
"If you have to plug your nose to vote for a lesser evil, that needs to stop. Don't vote for either one of them, vote for a real southern woman who represents you," Christie said.
Christie said she is not taking votes away from the Democrat or Republican nominees, rather she is bringing attention to issues like women's rights.
"Women still do not have equal rights in this country. Most of the voting public actually believes there was an ERA (Equal Rights Amendment) that actually passed," Christie said.
She said her first bill, if she were to win, would be to clarify "that the term men, as written in the Constitution, applies to all mankind both male and female."
Christie also said she was surprised to see she had been endorsed by the Uncle Sam Project on Facebook.
The Uncle Sam Project has few followers. It states that it is an "organization dedicated to replacing establishment hacks with an Uncle Sam." It claims "zero special interests and is 100% grassroots."
It also stated it previously endorsed Republican Jody Barrett in the primary.
"Whoever they are I just appreciate their endorsement. I just don't have any clue who they are," Christie said.
It just takes 25 signatures from registered voters in the district to get on the ballot.
You can see our full interview with the candidates on Inside Politics which airs at 7pm on NewsChannel 5 Plus and throughout the weekend.
It is also available as a podcast.
Just enter "Inside Politics Nashville" and start listening.
